David Roberts RA (1796-1864)

David Roberts RA (1796-1864)
The Chapel of St. Helena, in the Crypt of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem
Bears a signature and date David Roberts. April 10th 1839 (lower right)
Pencil and watercolour heightened with bodycolour and gum arabic
32.6 x 47.2cm; 12¾ x 18½in

Provenance:
Sir Reginald Houldsworth (1903-1989);
By whom sold, Sotheby's, London, Fine Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Drawings, 23 November 1967, lot 47 (as The Chapel of St. Helena, Bethlehem);
Leger Galleries, December 1968, where purchased by the previous private collector;
And by family descent

David Robert's diary records him making four drawings of the Holy Sepulchre on 10th April 1839. This work is probably one of these drawings, made on-the-spot. It would then have served as the basis for Louis Haghe's lithograph, with the customary minor compositional changes, most notably the figure in blue in the centre of the foreground. Roberts had actually already visited the Holy Sepulchre on two separate occasions at the end of March 1839. The numerous visits are testament to the importance of the site, considered by many as the holiest site in Christianity. The Chapel of St Helena dates from the 12th century and is in the Holy Sepulchre's lower level. Like many of Roberts' on-the-spot drawings the present work was probably trimmed, hence why the original signature and date were then transcribed.

Roberts is a central figure in the history of Orientalism. As the first professional artist from Britain to travel through the Middle East and North Africa he was a pioneering figure. He left London in August 1838, travelling first to Egypt before going onto the Holy Land. When he returned in July the next year he carried back nearly 300 drawings, and many sketchbooks, which formed the basis for a series of lithographs published as The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt & Nubia, and which caused a sensation.

We are grateful to Krystyna Matyjaszkiewicz for her assistance cataloguing the present work.